Clinical Analysis of Arthroscopic Repairing of Ellman Grade Ⅲ Bursal-side Partial-thickness Rotator Cuff Tears / 中国运动医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the clinical outcome of Ellman grade Ⅲ bursal-side partial-thickness rotator cuff tears(b-PT-RCT)treated by the arthroscopic single-row technique with articular tendon fibers reservation.Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 31 patients with Ellman grade Ⅲ (b-PT-RCT) who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (RCR) with the single-row technique in our hospital between January 2014 and October 2016.The intact articular side tissue of the rotator cuff was reserved in 17 patients of group A,and was resected to convert to a full-thickness cuff tear in 14 patients of group B.The visual analog pain scale(VAS)score,Constant-Murley score and shoulder active range of motion(ROM),and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)results were compared between the two groups during the last follow-up.Results Among the 31 patients,25 were followed,with 14 in group A followed for an average of 16.29(12～25)months and 11 of group B followed for an average of 15.37(12～27)months.There were no significant differences between the two groups in all measurements before the intervention and at the last follow-up.After the operation,significant improvement was observed in all planes of the active ROM for both groups(P＜0.05).The VAS score of group A and B decreased significantly from 6.50 ± 1.16 and 6.63 ± 1.80 before the operation to 0.86 ± 0.57 and 0.91 ± 0.63 at the last follow-up(P＜0.05 for both).However,the average Constant-Murley score improved significantly from 55.21 ± 6.40 to 86.85 ± 4.85 in Group A(P＜0.05),while from 54.37 ± 6.30 to 85.73 ± 5.36 in group B(P＜0.05).During the last follow-up,no retear occurred in both groups according to the MRI examination.Conclusion The outcome of single-row repair for grade Ⅲ bursal-sided partial-thickness rotator cuff tears with either articular tendon preservation or converting of the lesion to a full-thickness tear is satisfying.No significant differences were found in their clinical outcomes.